The Ecology of Fire in the Birthplace of Fire Ecology

Abstract

A review of Noss, R. F. Fire Ecology of Florida and the Southeastern Coastal Plain. University Press of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, USA, 2018. In Noss’ 2018 Fire Ecology of Florida and the Southeastern Coastal Plain, he reminds readers of the eminent and pioneering fire ecologist E.V. Komarek's poignant note that “fire ecology is a most neglected ecological subject.” Recent literature from around the world echoes this truth by reminding plant and animal ecologists of the dominant roles of fire in the past and in contemporary terrestrial ecosystems. This book tackles many aspects of fire in the past, present, and future, within an exceedingly fire-prone and biologically diverse region: the Florida peninsula and the adjacent eastern Gulf Coastal Plain and Atlantic Coastal Plain (the Mississippi River to the Virginia Tidewater). A treatment that focuses specifically on fire in Florida is long overdue, particularly given that the field of fire ecology was formally founded there and the multitude of fire–plant interactions. As Noss relates in the preface, his awakening as a graduate student to the relationship between frequent fires and Florida's rich biological diversity was revelatory. Noss’ book illustrates this via details of fire behavior, the corresponding natural history related to fire, and these complex fire–biodiversity relationships. I found the text accessible while still providing detailed citations and ecological mechanisms uncovered by the wealth of fire ecology research in the region. In addition to a detailed community-level treatment (focused on Florida more than the adjacent states), he deeply explores the life history of individual plant and animal species and how fire interacts with each. I have been disappointed in other regional fire ecology monographs for the lack of this fine-scale understanding; it is clear that Noss understands these ecosystems and their natural history. This book delves into broader ecological topics du jour while retaining a sense of place throughout. The book has a strong focus on the antiquity of fire in the study area and the role of fire in the evolutionary ecology of the dominant species. In addition to evolutionary ecology, Noss weaves in foundational ecological theory throughout, citing fundamental scientific arguments between well-recognized and often-overlooked 20th-century ecologists as well as covering 21st-century topics. He devotes considerable text to debates over the source of fires in the region, lightning and humans, and puts these in a thoughtful evolutionary and landscape ecological context. I can imagine that these topics (and ensuing debates) would serve graduate courses on the subject and serve as fodder for managers and policymakers in the region (and perhaps beyond). Beyond an ecological treatment, the book steps into the contemporary management of fire-prone communities in the study area. Unlike the ecological findings that can be neat and tidy, the controversies and complications over how to use prescribed fire in these landscapes are messy. His own opinions over contemporary fire management (some controversial) are apparent, and I think evenhanded. Noss covers managed fire frequency, arguments over season of application (a substantive treatment), use of fire (and mechanical treatments) in ecological restoration, managing for unburned refugia, manager-caused soil disturbance, and how a changing climate may impact the region (but this topic receives considerably less attention than the fire season debate). I found this section fair and lacking in the demagoguery that can accompany these debates. While many may disagree with some (or all) of these points, having worked in Florida as well as more broadly, I wish that other regions had similar nuanced arguments over the management and conservation of fire-prone ecosystems. Some readers may object to Noss’ lack of attention to fire behavior. Aside from a traditional presentation of the combustion process as how fires spread in surface vegetation, tree crowns, and organic soils, the text focuses much more on the relationships between plants (as fuel) and fires. Recent and ongoing advances in our ability to observe and measure small-scale (plant and plant organ level) fire behavior may revolutionize the future of fire ecology. In the meantime, the deep ecological understanding of fire and plant interactions that Noss weaves serves the reader well. The only real shortcoming of this book is its geographical scope. Florida is somewhat unique floristically in the southeastern United States, but its political boundaries are artificial in the north and west. Noss demarks his study area as the East Gulf Coastal Plain and Atlantic Coastal Plain in addition to the Florida peninsula. In the text, the areas beyond Florida receive much less attention and provide fewer examples in spite of their interest and complexity. We can only hope that this oversight may be sufficiently egregious so that someone follows Noss’ approach for the larger region and many other fire-prone regions across the globe.